Pyro is mad at me

[Lacey]

Thank you very much. Reno is not banded and shows signs of being older then what the breeder said and she will not contact me back so I can't get the pertinent information I want in making this choice. I want Reno to be as natural as possible and I am going to building him an outdoor aviary, but I don't want to add unnessary risk if that makes sense.

 

[Pedro]

Now i understand what your getting at with your questions Lacey. From my own experience & adopting older parrots that have been clipped all their life & letting their flights grow back, I have never encounted any problems what so ever. Once they know they are able to fly they do & very well i might add.

I truly think that it's an old wife's tale that if a parrots wings are cut to young they don't know how to fly when their flights do grow in, trust me they do. Yes i agree the wing & chest muscles do get lazy but i also think that in most cases it's the weight of the bird that makes it difficult for them to get off the ground.

Having said that, I would also have to mention the poor parrots that have had the worst wing clip where damage has been done to the point of infection & flights never grow back. I have heard of parrots loosing their life with such a bad wing clip or never being able to fly should the live.

If you are considering an outdoor aviary there is no reason i can see that you couldn't, all that is needed is lots of climbing ropes, ladders & branches for Reno to play on. Once Reno's flights grow back in when he is ready to fly he will. A few of my friends have built enrichment cages on their back patio or deck, (think you may call them a porch) with the door leading into the house, that way the parrot can come inside at will should you open the door.

I truly believe that parrots kept outdoors in an enrichment aviary are much better behaved & healthy. To me my parrots seem happy as well.

 

[Lacey]

Thank you very much Pedro! That makes me feel so much better. I wish I could know exactly how old he was, but this definitely eases my mind. I guess I am an overly protective momma! Thanks again! I appreciate it!

 

[Remy]

My first cockatiel growing up was clipped when we got her until we decided to let her wings grow out. She flew a little wonky, and it gradually got worse with age and she eventually couldn't fly anymore. Our other cockatiel, who was her mate, could fly just fine, but he stayed with her all the time anyways. It was sweet.

I originally wanted Puck to be flighted, but he already has serious attitude problems, so I'm not sure that it would be in my best interest to clip him! I also like being able to take him outside. He's so heavy (muscles) that I can't imagine a gust of wind taking him away.

When I got him 3 months ago he was over-clipped, so he can't really glide either. He can jump/flap about a foot off the ground if he tries really hard. I'm careful of him falling, because he falls like a rock! I can't wait for his feathers to grow out so I can have him properly clipped.

When I took him to the vet for the first time, I had his nails and beak trimmed, and some blood drawn for a blood panel. His little wing was sore from getting blood drawn because he struggled so much! The vet took me into the other room to do it, so he didn't get mad at me. The poor baby was showing me his hurt wing hours later! I took him for a cautionary visit after he acted weird (turns out he was just acting weird), and the vet kept him for observation for a couple hours. He was VERY stressed from that too, even though no blood was drawn or anything! He doesn't enjoy the vet. D: